Considerations when choosing a great hypnotherapist

1. Credentials/Membership:

In Australia a reputable hypnotherapist will be a member of an institution such as the AHA (Australian Hypnotherapists’ Association). The AHA has certain standards that must be met before a hypnotherapist can join. Benefits to the client include rebates on certain private health funds.

You may also want to check out if the hypnotherapist has completed a reputable training course. At the moment anyone can label themselves a hypnotherapist and practice. I would suggest that you enquire into where their training was completed and to what level. You are then able to look up the course offered by that institution.

2. Rapport:

In my opinion, this is one of the most important points to consider when choosing the right hypnotherapist for you. What was your first impression after the initial contact? As hypnotherapists, we are trained to build rapport quickly and it is a vital part of the hypnotherapeutic relationship. If you didn’t feel respected, safe and at ease whilst speaking with a prospective therapist (either by telephone or in the initial consultation) – then that is not the right therapist for you.

“The greatest potential for prevention is in teaching people how to step outside their own thinking.” – Yapko.

Michael D. Yapko is a clinical psychologist and marriage and family therapist, residing in California. He is a national and international trainer in brief therapy approaches to psychotherapy and routinely addressed professional audiences all over the world. Yapko is internationally recognized for his work in the active treatment of depression, the strategic use of clinical hypnosis and his advancement of the use of outcome-focused, short-term psychotherapies.

He is the author of numerous books and articles including: Trancework (3^rd Edition), Treating Depression With Hypnosis, Breaking the Patterns Of Depression, Hand-Me-Down Blues: How To Stop Depression Spreading In Families, Hypnosis And The Treatment Of Depressions. Dr. Yapko is a member of the American Psychological Association, a clinical member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, a past fellow of the Royal Society Of Medicine’s Division of Hypnosis and Psychosomatic Medicine (in England), a member of the International Society of Hypnosis, and a fellow of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis.

Dr. Yapko presented a 2 day workshop in Sydney this past July: ‘Designing and Delivering Hypnotic Interventions’. I was fortunate enough to attend and would like to share some of it with you.